To test whether patients with Askin tumor treated with aggressive neoadjuvant chemotherapy have a better clinical outcome.
Retrospective case series.
Pediatric referral center.
All children diagnosed with malignant small-cell tumors of the chest wall (Askin tumor) and treated from 1975 to September 1987 (phase 1, n=6) and from September 1987 to the present (phase 2, n=9).
Main Outcome Measures:
Survival as a function of extent of disease and response to therapy as measured by tumor volume, survival, and recurrence.
All phase 2 patients had significant reduction of tumor volume and improved survival by Kaplan-Meier estimates compared with phase 1 patients. No phase 1 patients are still alive.
Patients with Askin tumor treated with aggressive preresection chemotherapy have smaller tumors to resect and improved survival.Arch Surg. 1996;131:877-880